There seems to be one on every street corner in the Old Town, usually on the Cowgate or housed in a looming tenement building just off the Royal Mile.

The inhabitants tend to be a mix of casual workers, tourists, young travelers, and just people passing through the Scottish capital.

If you've ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at these cheap, crowded places to stay, you don't need to wonder anymore: in an AMA on the social news site Reddit, a Royal Mile hostel worker has spilled all the tea about his job.

Here are the most eye-opening things we learned:

1. They find guests getting jiggy in weird places.

(Image: Tripadvisor)

Private space is in short supply in a typical backpackers' hostel, but that doesn't stop the young, footloose and fancy-free clientele getting intimate with one another.

The hostel worker says: "Some people use the showers, or one of the toilets that has a ledge you can sit on. And then there's the laundry room, you just have to tell the night porter so he doesn't walk in on you.

"The other option is to just (do it) quietly in a room, while everyone else is asleep. All of the lower bunks have sheets that hang down to give them some privacy...and yes, I've heard people having sex in the room."

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A lot of the clientele like to get very drunk during their stay, which isn't ideal in shared dorms. People often get confused as to which room - and bed - is their's after a long night on the sauce.

The worker says, "A drunk guy from Poland tried to climb into bed with me at 3am the night before I had a big presentation at school. His girlfriend broke up with him the week before, and he was moving back to Poland the next day. He got drunk...and he was in the wrong room.

"At first I was about the punch him until I realized who it was, and then I told him he had the wrong bed, and he just kept saying, 'No it's okay, I'll go in a minute.'"

3. And messy accidents are all too common.

(Image: Tripadvisor)

With so much alcohol doing the rounds, it's not that surprising to hear that people don't always make it to the bathroom. Some people pee in their bed, others vomit, and...well, you can imagine the rest.

"The worst thing I ever saw happened ten years ago when I was only here for a few weeks. It was 4am and I remember being half awake and hearing it raining. Then someone screamed. The guy turned the light on, and I could see a drunk man standing on top of one of the bunk beds, totally naked, peeing on the bed next to him where the first guy had been sleeping.

"The drunk was totally out of it. He just stood there, peeing, and when he stopped, he went right back to bed like nothing had happened."

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Not everyone staying in a backpackers' hostel is just there for a short break. Some people actually live and work in Edinburgh on a long-term basis, but because of the nature of their work, they can only afford a bed in a shared room.

"I went on a date with a girl staying at the hostel. I asked her where she wanted to go, she said any place but the strip club...because she worked there. I had no idea that she was a stripper.

"When I asked her about it, she said it was okay, but she preferred being an escort. I had no idea that she was an escort. I asked her about that, and she said it was okay but it made dating weird as she wondered why she was doing it for free. That was a short date."

5. And the staff members often don't get paid.

(Image: Tripadvisor)

You'd think dealing with people jumping into bed with you, peeing on neighbouring bunks and having to break up canoodling couples in the toilet would come with a decent monthly pay cheque, but actually a lot of hostel workers do it for free in exchange for a place to stay. Wow.

The worker says, "I never actually got 'paid', I just worked 14 hours to cover my rent. Everyone worked another gig, I ran pub quizzes and did freelance film work. But if you're careful you can get by alright."